Questions regarding Regional and Shortline Railroad

Moderator's note: Moved to the employment forum.

Hey Guys,

I just joined this site and read a lot of good info on many topics on this board. Anyway, I have a question regarding the Class IIs railroad. I'm currently in the hiring process for Portland and Western Railroad for a Conductor position and am wondering how different a Class II would be to work for compared to the Class Is. Heres some questions I have:

-Do you get furloughed during the winter time or do you work year round?
-What is the pay per hour for this Railroad or any Class IIs for the conductor position?
-Is the work schedule similar for Class IIs conductors compared to Class Is?
-How stable is the PNWR and are the expanding?
-Are the Conductors on the PNWR part of the BLET or UTU unions?
-Is PNWR a good company to work for if you just joined the Army National Guard? Will they allow me to go when/if i'm deployed, or would they even pay me the difference in pay if i'm deployed to the current operations oversees ( BNSF does this )?

The reason i'm asking is because, right now i'm working for BNSF on the track side and have accumulated very good seniority dates for Track inspector/foreman, assistant foreman, machine operators and some other positions. If i was to leave BNSF, i'd give up the stable positions and seniority dates i have, and leave a very large class I that's probably growing. Plus the BNSF is very good to work for if your in the military. However, my dream has always been to become a Conductor and eventually an Engineer. I've been invited to interviews for the conductor and train crew positions by Union Pacific and Canadian Pacific but the invitations were thousands of miles away. Ironically, BNSF has always turned me down for this position.

I'm really excited about the possibility of working as a conductor for the PNWR but kinda afraid of losing all i have and relocating. Any ideas and answers is greatly appreciated! Thanks!

I am going to sum this up for you very easy. from my experiences in both class1 railroads and short--lines. And also my fellow co-workers experienced with short-lines. SHORT-LINES SUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You will work 10x harder for pay that is 10x less. Most short-lines are composed of employees that never worked for a class one, and don't know any better or former class one employees that got terminated. STAY AWAY!!!!!!! The positive side of working for a short-line is you will never get furloughed, there turn over rate is usually high.

Chicagorail1 wrote:I am going to sum this up for you very easy. from my experiences in both class1 railroads and short--lines. And also my fellow co-workers experienced with short-lines. SHORT-LINES SUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You will work 10x harder for pay that is 10x less. Most short-lines are composed of employees that never worked for a class one, and don't know any better or former class one employees that got terminated. STAY AWAY!!!!!!! The positive side of working for a short-line is you will never get furloughed, there turn over rate is usually high.

Huh interesting I was not expecting that answer. I will say this though now that I remember,when I went for an interview with a class1 RR a few months ago there were 4 guys from ClassII or shortlines. They all said how bad it sucked there,company was horrible they said.

Thanks for answering my questions about shortlines. Hmmm, That's something for me to really think about. So do you know if they are part of a union and what the pay range for conductors would be for a regional railroad?

railroadman2010 wrote:Thanks for answering my questions about shortlines. Hmmm, That's something for me to really think about. So do you know if they are part of a union and what the pay range for conductors would be for a regional railroad?

Definitely union represented.

Definitely union represented.


Thanks again for your answers. That's really refreshing to know that at least that they are Union representation.

railroadman2010 wrote:Definitely union represented.


Thanks again for your answers. That's really refreshing to know that at least that they are Union representation.

I agree 100%.

Conductor and Engineer spots on the Portland & Western pay around 20$/hour, overtime after 10. They are union. Not exactly the best paying short line, but could be much worse.

Hi,

Thanks a lot for letting me know about the pay. So I did get an offer but I'm undecided. The pay on BNSF is a little over $24, at least for Track Inspector on the MOW side. I've always wanted to transfer to the Train side and become a conductor, but how stable would this be? I hear good things about P & W, but since I will be in the National Guard and BNSF have what's called "Make Whole Pay" if/when i get deployed, I'm wondering if it would be better to stay with BNSF. I do have to also take into account the costs of relocation. Do you think this would be the wiser choice? I just don't want to wind up kicking myself in the future for giving up such a chance.

If you get hired with BNSF as a track inspector, you can apply for train service positions after a year. There is a high possibility that you might get furloughed for a firs few years during the slow season, and once in train service there is no going back to track department. Makewhole is a great benefit at BNSF. Many of my friends are in reserve or deployed over seas. BNSF is one of the most military friendly railroads in the US. Just look at the pros and cons... As a train service employee, you will work mostly on call, nights, weekends and holidays. Track department employees have a schedule, days off and don't work nights or holidays. Sometimes work the weekends, but for the most part, it's a MO-FRI job.

Good luck!

Not all shortlines are union. The BLET & UTU have been working to get them unionized. Pay is one thing benefits are another. The unions are working to better the situation.

COEN77 wrote:Not all shortlines are union. The BLET & UTU have been working to get them unionized. Pay is one thing benefits are another. The unions are working to better the situation.

Thanks for chiming in with that part of about not all shortlines are union. In fact I would bet that most are non-union.

The closest big one to me is the Reading and Northern and I know from talking with two guys who are conductors with them that they're about as anti-union as it comes and there is a zero percent chance they ever will be unionized.

But that said, it's always nice when the owner guarantees no layoffs or furloughs will happen for the foreseeable future as well. So while you're pay and bennies may not be the greatest at least you do know that you're livelihood is not going to be threatened by the next economic hiccup.

Lefty33 wrote:
But that said, it's always nice when the owner guarantees no layoffs or furloughs will happen for the foreseeable future as well. So while you're pay and bennies may not be the greatest at least you do know that you're livelihood is not going to be threatened by the next economic hiccup.

And if you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you. Not as a knock to R&N, but you never know what the future holds. No one is "safe".

dont look now but the R&N just went to UTU. they are now unionized. AS I UNDERSTAND IT.

gp80mac wrote:

Lefty33 wrote:
But that said, it's always nice when the owner guarantees no layoffs or furloughs will happen for the foreseeable future as well. So while you're pay and bennies may not be the greatest at least you do know that you're livelihood is not going to be threatened by the next economic hiccup.

And if you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you. Not as a knock to R&N, but you never know what the future holds. No one is "safe".

I do believe that because it actually happened. In 2008 and 2009 Muller guaranteed no layoffs or furloughs and that promise was kept.